Induction of apoptosis of lung and esophageal cancer cells treated with the combination of histone deacetylase inhibitor (trichostatin A) and protein kinase C inhibitor (calphostin C)

Inhibition of protein kinase C abrogates trichostatin A-mediated upregulation of nuclear factor κB transcriptional activity and p21 expression that is associated with profound induction of apoptosis in lung or esophageal cancer cells. Protein kinase C might be a novel target for enhancing the efficacy of histone deacetylase inhibitor in cancer therapy.